Sand-box for cars



(No Model.)

EM HBIZ.

SAND BOX FOR. CARS.

No. 563,036. Patented June 30,1896.

ATTORNEYS AN DREW B GRAHAM. PHUTO-LI'THQWASHINGYOND c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL HEIZ, OF PATERSON, NEIV JERSEY.

SAN D-BOX FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,035, dated June 30, 1896.

Application filed April 18, 1896.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMIL HEIZ, a citizen of the United States, residing in Paterson, Passaic county, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sand-Boxes for Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact'description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a sand-box for street and other cars of simple, stron g, and durable construction, reliable in operation, and easily attached to cars of almost any construction.

The invention consists in the improved sandboX,its valve-operating mechanism, and in the combination and arrangement of the various parts, substantially as will be hereinafter more fully described, and finally embodied in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several views, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a car provided with my improved sand-box; Fig. 2, an enlarged side elevation of the sand-box detached, with certain portions broken away and others shown in sections; Fig. 3, a detail top plan view of a certain spring-controlled valve-operating shaft, and Figs. at and 5 detail views of a sand guider or distributer to be used in connection with my improved sand-box.

In said drawings, a represents the car, to the under side of which and in front of the wheels is secured,,by bolts or in any desired manner, the hopper g with discharge-tube b. The said hopper communicates with a box or receptacle 0, arranged, preferably, under the seat of the car, and which receptacle contains the supply of sand for the hopper g, which latter can be refilled at will, as will be manifest.

The hopper g and the discharge-tube b are lined, as at g and b,with tar-paper, asbestos, or any other suitable non-conductive material to prevent freezing and sticking of the sand in cold or damp weather.

In the lower end of the tube b is removably Serial No. 588,210. (No model.)

secured, by a screw-thread connection, or in any desired manner, a plug 17 provided with a valve-seat for the reception of the valve 7& and its flange 71 Said valve is secured to the lower end of the centrally-arranged vertical rod 71 fulcrumed at its upper end to the free end of crank-arm h, which in turn is adj ustably secured,by means of the thumbscrew h ,to the horizontally-arranged shaft it, having its bearings in the sides of the hopper g. The rod h is preferably provided with a series of horizontally-arranged arms or breakers m, adapted to agitate the sand when the said rod is being operated. To the projecting end of the shaft his secured a depending arm (Z connected, by means of the horizontallyarranged rod (Z, with the lever f, fulcrumed, as at e, to the car, and adapted to be operated from the platform, as will be manifest.

The said rod cl is pivotally connected, as at d and d, respectively, with the said depending arm (1 and the lever f.

At or near the lower end of the dischargetube 1) is adjustably arranged a metal band is, the free ends of which are separated by a sleeve I0 and are held together and clamped onto the said tube 17 by means of the thumbscrew is. On said thumb-screw is fulcrumed the skeleton frame k carrying and supporting a flanged receptacle or shovel k adapted to receive the sand from the tube 1) and to uniformly discharge and spread the same on the rail. This device is generally used when the tube 1) and its hopper g cannot be secured to the car in such a manner as to come right above the rail.

By operating the lever f forward, the valve h is raised and sand is allowed to drop from the discharge-tube. When the said lever is released, it is returned by the action of the spiral spring, and the outlet-opening or valveseat is closed, as will be manifest.

I do not intend to limit myself to the precise construction shown and described, as various alterations can be made without changing the scope of my invention; but

That I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a sand-box, the combination with the hopper and the discharge-tube, of a valveseat removably secured to the lower end ofthe said tube, a horizontal shaft traversing said hopper, a crank-arm adj ustably secured ICO to said shaft and within the hopper, a vertically-arranged rod pivotally connected to the free end of said crank-arm, a valve on the lower end of said'rod and adapted to engage the valve-seat, a spiral spring surroundin g the horizontal shaft and secured with one end to the hopper and with its other end to the crank-arm to normally depress the same, and means for operating the horizontal shaft, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a sand-box, the combination with the hopper and the discharge-tube, of a non-conduc tive lining covering the inside of said hopper and tube, a horizontally-arranged shaft traversing said hopper, a spring-controlled crank-arm adj ustably secured to said shaft and Within the hopper, a vertical rod pivot- .ally secured at or near the free end of the rod, a valve-seat, adapted to be engaged by said valve, and removably secured in the lower end of the discharge-tube, a crank-arm secured to the projecting end of the shaft, and means for operating said crank-arm, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination with the discharge-tube of a sand-box, of a band adjustably arranged on said tube, a thumb-screw foradjustably securing saidband to the tube, a skeleton frame fulcrumed on said thumb-screw, and a receptacle or shovel carried by said skeleton, substantially as and for the purposes described.

ranged at the lower end of the discharge-tube,

substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. In a sandbox, the combination with the hopper and the discharge-tube, of a valveseat removably secured to the lower end of the said tube, a horizontally-arranged shaft traversing the hopper, a spring-controlled V crank-arm on said shaft, a vertically-arranged rod pivotally secured to said crank-arm, a valve on the lower end of said rod and adapted to engage the valve-seat, a series of arms 'or breakers projecting from the rod, and

means for operating the horizontal shaft, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of March, 1896.

EMIL HEIZ.

'Witnesses:

ALFRED GARTNER, DUNCAN M. ROBERTSON. 

